Adjustable track



May l5, 1923. 1 11,455,293

. H. C. KOLL|NG ET AL ADJUSTABLE TRACK Filed May 24, 1922 Patented Mayl5, 19,23.

insana rita FATNA HENRY C. ROLLING ANI) WILLIAM MGGILL, F WICHITA,KANSAS.

ADJUSTABLE TRACK.

Application filed May 24, 1922. Serial No. 563,218.

To all whom mag/ concern Be it known that we, HENRY C. KOLLING andWILLIAM MGGILL, citizens of the United States, and residents ofy`Wichita, in the county ofL Sedgwick and State of Kansas,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Adjustable Tracks,of which the 'following is a specification. This invention relatesgenerally to tracks and more particularly to a track which is adapted tobe placed upon a series of steps, such as the steps leading to adwelling orl like structure, to provide a plain surface over whichwheeled `and rollingly supported articles of furniture and vehicles,such as baby-carriages, can be moved without being subjected totheshocks and jars that would be incident to their movement vover aseries ofsteps.r

`An object of our invention is to provide a track vof the characterdescribed which includes fa pair of rail members, at least one of'whichis movable relatively to the other toadjust thewidth or gauge of thetrack as required for the accommodationV of vehicles and articles offurniture of various widths. y

"Other objects and advantages will be apparent'from the followingdescription, and

the novel features of the invention will be particularly outlined in theappended claims.

Our invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming apart of this application, in which Figure l fis a side elevationshowinga practical embodiment of the invention operatively applied 4to aseries of steps. leading to an elevated structure,

Figure 2 is a vertical section through the 40 structure exhibited inFigure l,

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. l, showing the railmembers of the trackin folded or inactive position, and

. Figure a is Aa perspective view showing a hinge member comprised inthe device. y

In carryingout our invention, we provide a pairl ofllongitudinal railmembers l, 2 which are of equal length and of substantially identicalconstruction, both being of channel-formation `and being formed of anysuitable material, such as a light gauge metal, wood or in fact anyrelativelylight material of suiiicient strength to sustain the weight ofarticles which may be moved therealong, as will presently appear. Thetrack member 2 is arranged transversely of the steps of a series ofsteps indicated generally at 3 so that the web portion of the railmember is disposed against the outer edges of the horizontal members ofthe respective steps and the upper end of the rail member abuts theouter edge of an elevated horizontal platform 4, which may be the floorof a porch or like structure, and the lower end of the rail member restsupon a horizontal surface 5 at the lower end of the series of steps.Therail member 2 is secured to the steps in the position described inany suitable manner, as by means of nails or screws 6 projectedtherethrough into the horizontal members of the steps and having theirheads counter-sunk or Hush 'with the upper or outer face of the web Yportion of the rail. It is to be observed at this point that the railmember 2 is positioned `adjacent to one side ofthe series of steps so asto leave the major portion of the series of steps unobstructed andavailable for use in the usual manner.

The rail member l is movably supported in parallel relation to the railmember 2 by means of a pair of spaced guide members 7-T having offsetend portions 8 secured by 4screws 9 or the like to the vertical membersof the upper and lower steps of the series, and a pair of connectors l0having portions mounted to slide upon the guide members 7 andoutstanding portions 1l to which the flange of the rail member lproximate to the rail member 2 is swingingly connected. The guidemembers 7 extend transversely of the rail members l, 2 and the endportions thereof underlying the fixed rail member 2 need'not be offsetbut can be extended' in axial alignment with the intermediate or maj orportion thereof into engagement with any suitable support, such as aside member 12 of the frame for the series `of steps, as indicated bythe dotted lines in Figure l, It is only essential to my inventionthat/the members 7 and the hinge members l() cooperating therewith be sodisposed that the rail member 1 can be moved bodily toward and away fromthe rail member 2 in parallel relation to the latter and in the plane ofthe latter when in active position.

,As illustrated to advantage in Figure a, each of the connectors 10 ismade of a single piece of wire bent to provide a loop 13 at one endthereof, a second loop 14C intermediately of the ends thereof and theoutstand-` ing portion 11 which is provided with an eye or a loopportion 15 at its end. The loop portions 13 and llare adapted toslidably embrace one of the guide members T at l spaced apart pointsandthe loop portion 15 is adapted to enter one of the cut away portions16 in the hollow bead or rolled portion 17 at the outer edge of theiiange of the rail member 1 proximate to the rail member 2. A pintle 18`extending through the bead 17 passes through theloop 15 of thelconnectors 10, j whereby the rail member 1 is held against anyappreciable axial movement lrelatively to thev guide members 7, 7. The

second ange of the railmember 1 and the flanges of the rail member 2 areshown as `being provided with beads similar to the bead 17 along theouter edges thereof and the same reference numeral has therefore beenused -to designate the respective beads of the two rails. u

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, theoperation thereof may be readily understood. The

rail member 1 can be slidably moved along l throughout its length `forengagement with one of the hooks 19 or like coperating element carriedby the rail member 1.

`When the device 1s not 1n use, the chains 18 are disconnected from therail member 1 and the latter is slidably moved along the guide member 7until adjacent to the rail member 2. rllhe web portion kof the railmember l1 is then swung upwardly and downwardly about the axis of thepjintle 1S to rest in superimposed position upon the raihmemberi2, asillustrated `in Figure 3. It will be apparent that both rail members`will occupy but little space when in inactive position and will notinterfere with the use4 of the series of steps 3 in the usual manner.

Obviously, our invention is susceptible of embodiment in forms otherthan that illustrated in the accompanying drawings,` and we thereforeconsider as our own all modifications of the forms of thedevicedisclosed herein, which fairly fall within the scope' of theappended claims.

Vile claim 1. A track of` the character described comi in whichit isdisposed laterally of the other rail to a position in which it issuperimposed upon the latter. j

2. A traclr of the character described comprising a pair of longitudinalrail members, means adjustably 'connectingl the rails together inparallel relation and permitting-of movement of onev rail from apositionin which it ils-disposed laterally of the other railto a position inwhich itis superimposedv a support, a pair of guide members extendingtransverselyV of said fixed rail member adjacent tol the endsthereof,and a pair of connectors, each vattached `at one end to thesecond rail member and slidably embracing one of said guide members topositionthe second rail member in parallel ,relation to the fixed railmember and to permit vof .bod-

ily movement of the formerrelatively tothe latter.

1. A track lof the character described comprising a pair of longitudinalrail members, each being of channel formation, meansffo'r tixedlysecuringone of said rail members kto a support,`a pair of guidemembersextending transversely of said fixed rail member vadjacent to the endsthereof, and a pair of connectors, each pivotally attached "at one endto the side of the second rail member proximate to the fixed railmemberandV slidably embracing one of theA guide members, whereby thesecond rail member-is disposed in parallel relation to the xed railmember and is movable bodilyjrelative to thezlatter and is alsoswingable in the arc of va circle from the plane of the fixedrail'memberto a superimposed 'position upon the latter,A A track of thecharacter described comprising a pair of longitudinal rail members, eachbeing of channel formation,mean$ for tixedly securing one of said railmembers to a support, a pair of guide ,IIlHlDIS en 'tending transverselyof said fixed-rail member adjacentlto the ends thereof, a pair-.ofconnectors, each pivotally attached, at onek end to the side of thesecond lrail member proximate to the fixed rail member and slidablyembracing one of the guide members, whereby the second rail member isdisposed in parallel relation to the fixed rail member and is movablebodily relative to the 5 latter and is also swingable in the are of acircle from the plane of the fixed rail member to a superimposedposition upon the latter, and other means for detaohably conneoting therail members together in adjusted position to hold the movable railmember against movement away from the fixed rail member.

HENRY C. KOLLING. WILLIAM MCGILL.

